Renton has one of the highest number of restaurants per person among area cities. Losing some restaurants is perhaps a natural part of that competitive market. Armondo’s closed in June and Stix-N-Stones shuttered its doors for good Aug. 14.

But, in the post-recession environment some restaurants in the city are still fairing better than one might think.

Angelo’s Pizza and Pasta House in the Highlands is testament to the longevity of Renton restaurants. With 25 years under its belt and counting, the establishment has made the best of hard times.

Angelo’s built its success around fostering a relationship with its customers. Other restaurants haven’t been as successful at getting a foothold in the community and at developing a loyal following.

Armondo’s Cafe Italiano, for 25 years a mainstay of the downtown restaurant scene, was the exception, too. Owner Armondo Pavone says the restaurant had “run its course,” but left open the possibility another restaurant could open in the space.

Since the beginning of the recession in 2007, about 100 restaurants in the city have closed or changed ownership, while about 200 have opened, according to Suzanne Dale Estey, City of Renton economic development director.

There are a few variations in the city’s data about these figures because of the way the city’s licensing department tracks businesses. When a business changes ownership, it is considered closed and then re-opened. Renton has about 250 restaurants or eating establishments.

The city works hard to make sure Renton is a competitive and business-friendly city, Dale Estey said.

The city supports the restaurant community by driving traffic downtown with such events as the Renton Farmers Market or to the Highlands with the recent Renton International Festival and Night Market. Renton officials also intentionally recruit restaurants to the city; they pursued Panera Bread for three years before it opened a store in The Landing.

Officials are continually supplying real estate brokers with information about Renton.

But, the efforts are not without some failures.

Ron McGowan, building owner of the space once occupied by Stix-N-Stones, had no comment about why the restaurant didn’t work. He’s aggressively looking for a new tenant, perhaps a restaurant chain. TJ Stone, owner of Stix-N-Stones, could not be reached for comment.

Stix-N-Stones featured fresh ingredients and its chef was willing to adapt his menu to the wishes of the customers. It had a bar and regular karaoke. When it opened, it replaced Fin ‘n Bone.

Don Schumsky’s building on nearby South Third Street downtown has remained vacant for two years while he’s tried to get another restaurant tenant to replace the Calico Cheesecake Cafe.

He’s shown the space to a number of interested people, but many didn’t have the restaurant experience and knowledge to run a successful restaurant, he said.

Angelo’s Pizza and Pasta House is trying hard not to be the next casualty of the hard times. Owner Tom Pallis said the restaurant has experienced an upswing in sales this year, starting in February.

Because of their base of loyal, regular customers, they’ve been able to stay resilient, he said.

“This place is mostly regulars who keep us going. I’d say it’s like 80 percent regulars who come in here,” Pallis said. “And, I think that’s how we got through the tough times from ‘09 and 10.”

It is generally thought the recession ended in 2009, but consumer attitudes toward eating out seem to reflect a bent toward frugality even in the last couple of years.

The NPD Group, a marketing research firm, found that about three-quarters of the consumers they surveyed in a spring report fell into the cautious, controlled-spender group. This included “adults in all demographic groups but skewed toward the unemployed, less affluent and retirees,” a release stated.

Pallis said his customers have been different.

“Our regular customers really supported us and they were coming here supporting us because they knew it was tough,” he said. “They would come in and they would tell us ‘We’re not going to let you go out of business, we’re here.’”

Pallis said he’s not only had to deal with struggling revenues but loss of customers due to competing pizza chains that have sprung up in the Highlands neighborhood.

To compete Pallis and Lisa, his wife and co-owner, say they rely on being consistent and providing great customer service.

“We probably know over a thousand people’s names, literally,” said Lisa.

They have a cheat-sheet behind the counter if they get stuck, but the couple strives to greet their regular customers by name as they enter the restaurant.

Angelo’s original owner, Angelo Sarris, didn’t do this, but instead greeted everyone with a friendly, “Hi, how are you?”

The restaurant opened in 1986.

Tom bought the restaurant from Sarris in 1998 after working for Sarris for eight years. He started as the dishwasher and worked his way up to cooking the pizza and other dishes. It took him about a year to learn and perfect Sarris’ recipes.

Tom said he had all the knowledge and “it was like switching shoes basically.”

Their No. 1 seller is their spaghetti and meat sauce, of which Tom said he makes the most of all their dishes. That’s followed closely by their lasagna and fettucini alfredo. Their pizzas are popular, too, but because of the surrounding competition their sales have dropped a little.

They have mostly dine-in customers.

At one time Seahawks coaching staff, a player and scouts would eat at Angelo’s. But they have moved away as the team has changed, he said.

One need only look at the wall in front of the kitchen to see their community support apparent in pictures of soccer and baseball teams the restaurant sponsors. They also support the Seattle Majestics, the professional women’s tackle football team.

Tom and Lisa are together almost 24 hours a day seven days a week. Tom cooks and Lisa runs the dinning room area. Lisa thinks that customers appreciate that it’s a family run business.

They employ four people during the week and six on the weekends.

For now they won’t expand, but will keep their strategy the same of providing quality ingredients and great customer service and hope that will pull them through shaky times in consumer spending.